- People with type 1 diabetes and many with type 2 have to constantly monitor their blood sugar levels and control them with insulin shots
- Swiss scientists developed cells that release insulin when they detect caffeine
- Coffee has also been shown to have protective effects against diabetes
- The experimental system proved safe in mice
- If it works in humans, people with diabetes could replace their two or more insulin injections with a caffeinated drink before each meal
Coffee could be the new insulin injection for diabetes sufferers, new research suggests.
OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE JOE: A cup of coffee before breakfast could soon replace a morning blood sugar tests and insulin shots for many diabetics thanks to engineered cells
For the 1.25 that have type 1 diabetes, injecting insulin is an essential part of their daily routines, as it is for many of some 30 million Americans with type 2 diabetes.
But Swiss researchers have retooled kidney cells to release insulin on commands delivered through caffeine.
If their bioengineering experiment works as well in humans as it did in mice, a simple sip of coffee could trigger insulin production and eliminate the needles once and for all.
Diabetes is fifth most common chronic disease in the US.
The insulin-production condition kills nearly 80,000 people a year, and drastically raises risks for other potentially fatal conditions, including heart disease.
For those born with a diminished ability to produce insulin – a key hormone to the break down and use of glucose from food for energy – type 1 diabetes is manageable, but only by constantly monitoring their blood sugar levels and injecting themselves with a shot of insulin two or more times a day.
The injections are an effective but far from perfect treatment for the chronic condition.
Without insulin, a person with diabetes’s blood sugar levels can get too high, they are liable to get a headache, feel weak and even lose consciousness.
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